Which small estate

[samdale]

We're in the market for a small estate. The largest, most practical car we have (out of 3) is a Mazda 2. Our golden retriever puppy is growing fast and want a safe way of transporting him. Also tip trips, holidays, DIY purchasing etc.

It will also be used for a 20 mile commute most days and be parked in a small works car park. For this reason we've ruled out the unnecessary Mondeo/Passat sized estates.

We've been and had a look at a few new but after doing the maths it makes more sense to buy second hand.

Honestly been surprised by the i30 tourer, seems to tick most boxes and probably get a second hand one with a chunk of warranty.

Looked at a focus and although the load space was good, with dog friendly low boot threshold, it would have to be a diesel. The 125 1litre ecoboost we both agreed was just woeful, I'd rather have a diesel.

Leon ST was quite nice, although the load space didn't seem as good. To achieve a flat load space with seats down the boot floor was very high. Others had better space due to folding seat squab.

Golf? Not looked yet. Ruled out on price whilst we were looking for new, maybe worth looking at second hand?

Kia? Seemed to be quite strong money "for a Kia". Maybe residuals make them a good second hand buy?


TL;DR

What car? Small estate, £10k budget. Low annual mileage, doesn't have to be very PH as long as it's practical. Only kit we really want is air con and cruise for the odd holiday trip. These seem pretty standard kit now anyway. Planning on keeping for a good number of years.

[Jetblackonetenth]

Have you had a look at the Seat Altea, especially the XL?

[Slow]

Bmw 3 series touring? My E46 one feels pretty damn small compared to my barges.

[Ste372]

Kia ceed estate will have a good chunk of 7yr warranty remaining and also Skoda fabia/seat ibiza estate. The 1.2tsi with dsg box goes very well and is economical aswell

[caelite]

I was looking for a similar car to yourself with about half the budget (I ended up with an mx5... but that's beside the point). I ended up loving the look of these:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Skoda Fabia VRS Estate, an estate supermini. Boot looks more than big enough for dogs and tools, it weighs a tiny bit less than the normal Fabia and is a pretty skinny car so great for running around town, the VAG 1.4 is... alright, early ones had oil issues. It is PH enough to be interesting to drive but small and practical at the same time. I believe their may be a Seat Ibiza version too.

You can have your pick of the lot in your pricerange too, they built them 2010-2015 I think. Most range between £5k-9k

[Chris944_S2]

My brother has a V50 T5, he's had it about 8 years now and its been absolutely faultless. Nice car to drive and very comfy . The straight 5 sounds rather nice, although a tad quiet.
I guess even the standard versions are pretty good too.

[Matt-il77s]

As said, V50, air con as standard and leather seats + cruise control in the higher models. Comes in loads of petrol and diesels from 1.6 to 2.4

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say a Focus ST-3 fits the bill:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Or a CLA250

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Leftfield Option:

A bit bigger but a bargain none the less.

2016 VXR Insignia

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[skinnyman]

Except they're £20k-£25k cars, for a £10k budget.

[samdale]

skinnyman said:

Except they're £20k-£25k cars, for a £10k budget.

Not very often someone reads the whole OP and then skips the TL;DR



Anyway.

The V50 is definitely something we will look into. The nice low threshold on the boot looks very good and does the promise of a nice interior and kit.
Have found one local to go have a nosey round tomorrow.

Skoda boot seems to be the opposite. Have visions of the dog going base over apex jumping over that!

[addsvrs]

We are currently in exactly the same process but about half your budget (we have a St Bernard who will absolutely trash any car ) The low boot opening is a must to stop the lunatic launching herself out. As its going to be the wifes motor she dosent want a big estate and to be honest the choice is fairly small.

The only one we have found so far that she liked was the Megane Tourer in GT spec, fully loaded and about 2.5k cheaper than my choice of a E91 BMW (and thats povety spec with 40k more !).

We didnt like the Ibiza / Auris / Golf, havent looked at a Focus yet but really cant think of many more choices.

[prg1]

E91 Bmw is within budget with a range of engines available.
We have a 320d. Couldn't speak more highly of it.
Reliable, comfortable and relatively swift.
Had it for 50k miles and will keep it a good couple of years yet.

[ZX10R NIN]

My mistake

Focus in budget:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Alfa 159

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Saab 9-3

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Insignia 2.8T

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[samdale]

addsvrs said:

We didnt like the Ibiza / Auris / Golf, havent looked at a Focus yet but really cant think of many more choices.

Looked at an auris and just can't get over the looks. Really is a tragic looking car. Liked the look in and out of the Leon but didn't have the practicality. What put you off the Golf? Not looked into them yet.

It seems the Focus/V50 share a platform and it's the most practical load space I've seen so far which is selling it.

We're similar in that it'll be her car for commuting. No point trying to park anything huge every day when all we need is space for a dog crate occasionally.

[addsvrs]

dont forget my budget is just over half of yours so that plays a big part. Plus i have to deal with womens logic, like the golf estate she didnt like just because we had a Golf before and it was bit of a lemon (15 years ago ffs). The most important thing to us is the height from the floor to the boot edge and if the dog can sit up in the boot, hence the estate. oh and it has to be £30 or less tax, 40+mpg and have A/C / bluetooth / privacy glass blah blah (really hate car shopping with the boss)

The car she liked best and ticked all the boxes was the Megane, which to be fair was nice.
12 plate 55k fully loaded @ 6k
Same money(ish) gets a older povo spec 3 series, old shape focus / Golf.
Clio / Ibiza too small.

Luckily our local car supermarket has all of the above models and more all under 1 roof, so car shopping dosent turn into a row when im dragging her round all over the place. She finds what she likes then its upto me to find the best spec / colour etc etc (happy wife happy life yeah ?) They even let us go home and bring the puppy back for the test drive in the Megane. I nearly signed for the Megane but decided to take the weekend to mull it over. Still undecided.